You heard it here first
Gearing up for the Tour Aotearoa South Island
I’ve been wanting to complete the Tour Aotearoa for some time now - pretty much since we did the North Island leg in early 2023. At the time, I wished we had arranged to bike both islands because I just wanted to keep cycling. And ever since, I’ve been envious of those announcing their departure dates on the Tour Aotearoa discussion group.
So, I’m very happy to finally have it planned for this summer.
For those who don't know, the Tour Aotearoa is a bike route that starts at one end of the country (at Cape Reinga) and ends at the other (at Bluff). It's a 3,000 kilometres ride and recognised as one of the world’s best bikepacking trips.
The route makes use of off-road cycle trails when they are available and connects them up with quiet back roads (when available) and various stretches of highway. Several boat trips are required along the way too. The idea is to keep away from the traffic as much as possible and enjoy a scenic ride. There's a mix of surfaces (gravel, dirt, sealed road and even a beach) and there are lots of hills.
Every year, there's a brevet event, with cyclists starting over a few days at Cape Reinga and making their way down the length of the country to Bluff. The idea of the brevet is to be completely self-supported and complete it within 30 days - but you aren't supposed to do it in less than ten days and it's not a race.
A lot of people are brevet regulars and enjoy the camaraderie of doing it at the same time as others. However, people can (and do) cycle the route whenever they want. Which is what we will be doing.
When we cycled the North Island, we joined a supported group tour so we didn't have to carry any gear and, apart from dinner, all our food and accommodation was organised for us. That made things easy (well, as easy as cycling 1,600 kilometres with 17,000 metres of climbing can be). We just had to cycle. We all went at our own pace and one of the crew made sure to stay behind us in case anyone had mechanical issues (or got lost).
This time around, we are going to do things differently. This time, it will just be me and Chris, and we won't have any support (other than a lift back to Christchurch at the end - thanks Mum and Dad). We’ll be cycling with panniers, so we'll be carrying more weight than last time, and we’ll need to find our own food and drink along the way.
We’ve opted to stay in motels so we don't have to carry camping gear and can get a good night's sleep. As there are limited accommodation options (and some big distances between places), we’ve made the call to book everything ahead of time. Which is great from a ‘being organised’ perspective - but not so great if we get any big weather events (part of the route is known for heavy rain) or have serious mechanical issues or get sick. We will have to move on regardless.
We begin in early February by taking the train from Christchurch to Picton (the start of the South Island route) and cycling the first leg to Havelock. The first week will take us through Nelson and Murchison to the West Coast, where we’ll have a rest day. Then week two is all way the down the West Coast to Wanaka (mostly on the road but with a diversion for the West Coast Wilderness Trail). After another rest day, it's over the hill to Queenstown, across the lake, and on through Southland to Bluff.
All up, it’s 1,400 kilometres with over 13,000 metres of climbing. It will take us three weeks (18 cycling days, two rest days, and one long drive home).
It's very exciting - and just a little bit daunting as well. We have started training but with only two months to go, we have a bit of work to do to build up our cycling distances again and get comfortable riding with panniers. And then there's the small matter of improving our mechanical skills (which is Chris’ job to sort out).
But the Christmas break is coming, and the weather is fine, so bring it on.